Pace of Indianapolis-area homebuilding slows

Homebuilding slowed in November in the Indianapolis area for the second straight month.

Builders filed for 317 permits for new home construction, 2 percent fewer than in the same month last year. In October, permit filings were down 5 percent.

The past two months are the only ones this year to see a drop in homebuilding permits from a year ago, a clear sign that local builders have pulled back on their plans for new construction heading into 2014.

In the first 11 months of this year, permits for new homes in the nine-county area have risen 18 percent from last year, to 4,625.

The year-end total, though robust compared with last year, will still be far under the boom period of the late 1990s through 2005, when permit filings topped 10,000 every year in the area.

With one month to go in the year, the most active counties for homebuilding permits in 2013 have been Madison (up 63 percent to 75), Shelby (up 52 percent to 73), Boone (up 35 percent to 447), Hancock (up 35 percent to 249) and Johnson (up 26 percent to 579).

Fast-growing Hamilton County has seen a 12 percent jump in permits this year, to 1,772.